My Thoughts...

January 1, 2015

As 2014 wraps up and I think about this past year, my mind replays ups
and downs that I stumbled through. In
March, I got news from my Dr. that wasn’t the greatest. Granted, it could’ve been a lot worse, but
could’ve been better, too. I cried for
what seemed so impossible at the time. I
remember sitting on the couch and John wiping away my tears, telling me to
trust the Lord’s plan and timing for it all.

When I think of that now, I have to smile. I have to smile because here it is, not even
a whole year later, and I see the Lord’s faithfulness sleeping in my arms. Not even a whole year later, and I see the
Lord’s plan clearer than I ever have.
Not even a whole year later, and I see how His ways are so much higher
than my own.

So, as far as 2014 goes, I will forever cherish it as a reminder of
His faithfulness. Hopefully, as you look
back on this past year, you, too, can see His fingerprints amidst all of your
own ups and downs. He’s been faithful in
2014, and I know He’ll be faithful in 2015, as well!

April 2, 2014

Most usually when you are getting ready to assign a task, you choose
the most qualified.You generally don’t
choose the weakest member of the group, you pick someone who will get the job
done.Someone you trust and have
confidence in:someone you believe
in.If you are the overseer, you want to
know that when that whatever the job assigned, your person will do it, do it
well, and get it finished.

I feel like Job was God’s “person”.When the satan came around, the Lord knew
exactly who He wanted for the job.He
knew that Job had faith and trust in Him and wouldn’t back down.He would stand through any tests and
temptations, firm.Job was the person
for the job.When things got tough, and
we all can read how tough it actually got, the Lord had confidence in His
servant.The Lord knew Job’s heart.He trusted him to do the job, do it well, and
finish the task.

How many times things pop
up in our lives that don’t seem to be the best of situations.You feel tested and tried and spent on every
level.Life gets hard.I want to be the kind of servant, like Job,
that the Lord has utmost confidence in.The kind of servant that He can say, “have you considered my servant
Amy?”The kind of servant He can depend
on.

So when tests and trials knock us down,
and they will, keep an unwavering faith…the Lord may have specifically chosen
the best servant, you, for that particular test.

“And
the Lord said unto satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil?

March 25, 2014

“For our present troubles are small
and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs
them and will last forever!”

2 Corinthians 4:17

This was the verse I needed after a rough
couple of weeks.My sweet, patient
husband reminded me that “God has a plan for us.” And my response was, “I know
but it doesn’t make it any easier right now.”I didn’t want a plan…I wanted easy.I didn’t want a fight…I wanted easy.I didn’t want an uphill climb…I wanted easy.I didn’t want unknowns…I wanted easy.I wanted the kind of easy that other people
seemed to have and not even realize it.I
felt entitled to easy.

Sitting in church on
Sunday, I replayed our conversation back.Then it hit me that I’m not entitled to easy.He didn’t promise easy…He promised to show up
when things got hard.He didn’t promise
easy…He promised to help carry our burdens.He didn’t promise easy…He promised to stand on the battlefield beside
us.

This is part of the song
we sing at church by the Crabb Family:

So many times I question the certain
circumstances of things I could not understand.
And many times in trials, my weakness blurs my vision, and my frustration gets
so out of hand.
It's then I am reminded, I've never been forsaken.
I've never had to stand one test alone.
When I look at all the victories, the Spirit rises up in me.
It's through the fire my weakness is made strong.

He never promised
that the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb.
He never offered victories without fighting but He said help would always come
in time.
Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision and the adversary
says give in, Just hold on.
Our Lord will show up
and He will take you through the fire again!

So right now, I’m
going to trust His promises, even though they don’t always include “easy”.I’m holding on, knowing that he’ll show
up.I know that the tougher the trial
the more His glory shines and so for right now, I’m okay with giving up on easy.

March 10, 2014

Purpose or
accident?That is a question I find
myself asking a lot on a daily basis.Dealing with 6 and 7 year olds, it’s a question that needs asked quite a
few times a day.“Did you hit him on
purpose or accident?”“Did you hurt her
feelings on purpose or accident?”Rarely, I have a first grader say that he/she did something on purpose…it
is most always an accident.Sometimes
though, there’s a little on who will admit that they purposefully did something
wrong.

A couple weeks ago,
it was one of those days where I had asked that question all day long, more
times than I cared to count.I was on my
home from school thinking about our day.I was tired and grouchy as I recalled the events from the day.I felt the Lord put the question back on my
heart, “purpose or accident”. I was sick
of that question, but the Lord kept placing it in my mind.“Purpose or accident”?As I thought about the question, I examined
its application on my own life.Do I do
my actions in regards to my walk with Him on purpose or accident?

An accident is an
event that is unplanned and has lack of intention or necessity.Are my prayers and Bible reading that casual…no
real plan…haphazard?As in any
relationship, my relationship with Jesus is a two way street, give and
take.Jesus does nothing by accident,
everything is on purpose.To do something
on purpose is to have a goal. When He
was born, it was a necessity.He didn’t “accidentally”
end up hanging on a cross and dying.He
willing placed himself on the cross with intention, He had a goal.His goal was to save my soul.He expects that same level of purposefulness
from me.He expects me to live for Him
with purpose.A goal to share His love
with others.Intention to glorify
Him.Determination to make it Heaven one
day.

Purpose or accident?It’s a simple little question with profound meaning.So what’s your answer?Is your walk with Him driven by purpose or
accident?